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Vadera Profile: From Banker to Baroness

By

Paul Sonne

Updated Sept. 24, 2009 1:23 p.m. ET

U.K. business minister Shriti Vadera certainly did not win any prizes for popularity among her colleagues in the British government. Her manner in the corridors of power was notoriously brisk and she earned a fearsome reputation among civil servants. But to Prime Minister Gordon Brown she proved invaluable, acting as his key adviser during the financial crisis, which threatened to bring down some of the U.K.'s largest financial institutions.

Lady Vadera cut her teeth in the world of banking. After spending 14 years as an investment...